#honestly I think Elizabeth's retirement to Bermondsey Abbey and her subsequent request for a simple funeral

[wonder-worker]

"At least one of the sources of this account clearly felt that a queen's funeral should have been more splendid, regardless of the fact that she had retired from court and was not the mother of the king. However, there is no real evidence that the desire expressed in Elizabeth Woodville's will for a humble ceremony was not genuine. Despite her status she was still a prize for the religious house in which she was buried. In earlier centuries there had been bitter competition between houses for the bodies of men of such dubious reputation as Henry II's heir (the young king Henry) and King John. Had Elizabeth omitted the request for a humble burial, the clergy at Windsor would probably have permitted the heralds to organize the grander funeral they expected. The consequence of that stipulation was that, in stark contrast to her daughter's funeral, the mourners were all people who had actually known her. Elizabeth Woodville's status as a widow meant that she could choose a funeral which was a ritual for a woman, not a queen."

-J.L. Laynesmith, "The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503"

#historicwomendaily #elizabeth woodville #and honestly the fact remains that all her attending children also went along with a more humble funeral for her #when they would've easily been able to order and/or organize a more elaborate ceremony #this EVIDENTLY indicates that they knew a more modest funeral is what their mother really wanted #people also tend to think that she was estranged from her daughter Cecily and from Margaret Beaufort because they didn't attend the funeral #except...Elizabeth of York was in confinement because of her pregnancy they were almost definitely attending to her #and we KNOW that John Welles - Cecily's husband and Margaret's brother - attended. As did the governess of EoY's children I think #honestly I think Elizabeth's retirement to Bermondsey Abbey and her subsequent request for a simple funeral #can - if taken together - indicate a specific mindset that she may have had after the trauma of 1483-85 (a wish for a quieter life) #(tho I think she would've probably taken a different decision had her son been King) #and even regarding the transfer of lands - people forget that they were going to her own daughter. It's quite reasonable to assume that #she'd be willing to part with them to ensure that Elizabeth of York was well-endowed as queen #if the new queen had been a stranger it would've been a different story #(admittedly we don't know when she retired to the Abbey. It may be closer to her death date than what's generally assumed) #my post #15th century #english history #queue